Influences from the Chinese Folk elements

According to 孙凰, the piece draws upon materials from Yunnan folk tunes, such as those from 苗族飞歌，彝族阿细跳月 and 傣族孔雀舞曲’s tonal inflection and rhythmic characteristics.

For instance, this juxtaposition of major and minor 3rd which portrayed the ambiguity of a major or minor tonality as inherent in the choice of set class 4-17 is actually a prominent characteristic in music of the 苗族飞歌, where there is extensive use of such inflections to create contrast.

After watching a few 彝族阿细跳月clips, I notice that pulse and the frequent change in time signature are important elements, such as the succession of alternating 3 beats, 2 beats or 5 beats, 4 beats, creating a sense of regularity within irregularity. This frequent change in pulse (e.g. bars 26 – 53 [alternating 3/8 and 4/8, 3/8 and 2/8]) and the use of 5/4 (as seen in bars 216 – 219) are characteristics of music from this tribe. The unexpectancy in terms of pulse due to frequent changes and wide variety of time signature aids in creating periods of tension and relief, and inject more rhythmic excitement. For instance, from bars 216 – 237, the change in time signature from 5/4 --> 4/4 --> 6/8 --> 5/8 --> 4/8 --> 3/8 --> 2/8, coupled with syncopations, further upsets the regularity of pulse, aiding in the culmination of a small climax.

(refer to http://you.video.sina.com.cn/b/9768653-1339817027.html for an example of 彝族阿细跳月dance)

The composer also draws upon Yunnan 苗族’s bamboo dancing and vividly depict the hitting of bamboos during such dance, by employing the technique of striking soundboard using the wooden part of the bow with the rhythm

(refer to http://v.ku6.com/show/3dfMtuz6GYSEvxFH.html for a clip of bamboo dance).

In the opening of the Allegro assai section (bar 267), the erhu player has to hit against the snake skin with the right hand and the pluck the strings with the left hand. The aim actually, is to imitate the hitting of drums and these ‘drumming’ patterns, together with the accompaniment gradually became more dense rhythmically and texturally as the registral space widened so as to lead in to the climatic Presto section. However in actual performance, many erhu players omit these 24 bars because they felt the effect was not significant enough, and once the accompaniment enters 4 bars later, it would be drowned, as such sound effects could not penetrate far.